Comfort Me
by rebelxxwaltz
Summary: Two people, each suffering with a private tragedy, reluctantly draw comfort from one another. What happens when comfort starts to evolve into something...else? Seto x Anzu. On Hiatus...or is it? Chapter 2 posted.
1. Tragedy

Hi everyone. This story has been around for awhile, but I'm revising the author's note to take out all the explanations that were present about the little contest between this story and **Blindsided**, which this story lost (dries this story's tears...it _is_ angsty, after all). I chose to do this partly because I thought the long author's note was overlong and annoying, and partly because I've had a strange urge to update this story recently. Hopefully a new chapter will be in the works as soon as I'm done altering this one.

I have to thank everyone who reviewed this when I first posted it. Lots of you were kind enough to leave comments for both this and for **Blindsided**. In some cases it helped make my decision easier, but response for this was so positive all around that I really had trouble putting it on hiatus! Even if this does get an update, I can't say that status will be likely to change. Two multi-chaptered stories is about all I can reasonably handle.

Concerning this story: It doesn't follow the plot of the manga or the series, necessarily. I haven't seen the series all the way to the end (I'm trying, I promise!), and I don't know what exactly happens. So what occurs here should just be taken for what it's worth. It's an exploration of a scenario, you could say. Call it AU if you wish-- I'm pretty sure that would be an accurate description.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Don't own the characters, either. I guess I might own the plot, though I must say it feels a little cliché. Seriously, if someone else wrote something exactly like this, let me know (crosses fingers)! I'll try my best to keep it original...

**Comfort Me**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

_**xxx Anzu xxx**_

The plane lifted off from the runway. In addition to its many other passengers, it carried one very mysterious spiky headed and-- apparently-- young man. This man was leaving, on a journey to discover the secrets of his ancient past. Yami was leaving Domino, knowing full well that he might never return.

Alone in the airport terminal observing the plane as it ascended stood a dark-haired girl in her late teens. Her other friends had long since departed, though Anzu privately suspected that Yugi was lingering somewhere in close proximity, alone with his thoughts and apprehensions as she was with hers.

The aircraft continued to rise. Anzu watched as it disappeared from sight, taking away the one to whom she had given her heart. A numb tingling began to overtake her stomach as her eyes scanned the now empty skies. The parting had not been particularly emotional. Most of the drama had already taken place, when he first expressed his intentions to her. What was it he had said?

_**oooo Flashback oooo**_

"Anzu, you know I must do this. It may be the only chance I have to discover who and what I truly am. I have to make this journey. Wouldn't you?"

Tears clouded Anzu's blue eyes, blurring the image of the man standing before her. "But why? Why now? We've just discovered these feelings..." She choked back a sob.

Yami looked stricken, but determined, reaching out to tilt Anzu's face toward his. "I know. But until I fully realize myself, how can we be sure that my...feelings for you are as they should be?"

She stared into his eyes, which was easy as he wasn't that much taller than her when she wore heels. She could almost taste his guilt and regret, wondering to herself whether it existed because he was leaving her or if it was because he'd decided their involvement had been a mistake all along. She slipped her hand into his, clutching it.

"Please, at least let me go with you. I might be able to help, like I did before! I promise I won't get in the way--"

"No. I already told you, Anzu. It's important for me to do this alone."

"But I--"

He silenced her with a piercing look. "I don't think you understand. Don't you see? Depending upon what I find, I may not be returning."

Anzu had frozen at his blunt admission. _Not returning? But what about--_

"Look, I know how you feel for me, Anzu. And I believe in my heart that my feelings are the same. However..." His eyes dropped away. This was it. He was ending it. They had taken so long to grow into their love and now it was over before it even had a chance. She stumbled back from him, jumping as his arm reached out to steady her.

"I don't expect you to wait for me. In fact, I'd be happier knowing you hadn't. You deserve to be happy, Anzu. And then, perhaps, someday..."

Wrenching her arm from Yami's grip, Anzu stalked away. She tried to tell herself it was anger that made her flee, but the tears rolling down her face told a different story.

_**oooooooooooooooo**_

Anzu sighed, trying to imagine what it had been like when Yami had confided his plans to Yugi. She imagined _that_ conversation had probably gone better all around...

Turning away from the viewing platform as the sun began to set, Anzu felt an empty pit slowly overtaking the still-fresh pain which accompanied Yami's departure from her life, possibly forever. All the love she'd possessed, she'd tried to give to him. And it still hadn't been enough. Why bother giving yourself to someone so completely if it would end up like this?

Anzu made a very reckless promise to her wounded heart as the sky blazed orange and purple behind her. The promise to never let herself be hurt this way again.

**xxxxxxx**

**xxxxxxx**

**Three Months Later**

_**xxx Seto xxx**_

The plane crashed into the forested mountainside at an alarmingly high speed. At impact, the metal and fiberglass broke and shattered and bent into unnatural shapes, a cruel parody of what was happening to the bodies of the passengers inside.

Of the four people who had been aboard the small aircraft, one had expired immediately. The other three had sustained injuries of varying severity. A bodyguard with a broken arm was the first to emerge from the wreckage. He was followed directly by a tall figure, looking less polished than usual with a ripped trench coat and blood dripping steadily from a gash above his left eye. Clutched in his arms was a small, unconscious figure. A boy.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Call for help, you idiot! Now!"

The bodyguard hobbled up the hillside, trying to obtain better phone reception as he began speaking in clipped tones to the emergency dispatcher. Seto Kaiba strode briskly away from the flaming wreckage of his private jet, eventually laying the prone form of his younger brother carefully on the ground several hundred yards away.

Seto did not feel calm, or cool under pressure, or level-headed as he may have appeared on the outside. He knew Mokuba way badly injured, a concept his mind could barely process. The boy's limbs were twisted into positions a contortionist would have had trouble with, and his left arm bore a long, jagged cut. Seto tried to stem the bleeding by tying a piece of his ripped coat tightly around his brother's arm.

Mokuba _was _breathing, but rather faintly, unsteadily. Seto suspected broken ribs as a likelihood. He didn't even want to contemplate the possible internal injuries. There had also been a knock to the boy's head, evidenced by a trickle of blood down the side of his face.

The world moved around Seto in an unpleasant blur as the emergency personnel arrived. He watched numbly as his brother was strapped onto a stretcher and prepared for the airlift. He wanted to strangle the paramedics for daring to shake their heads sadly as they secured Mokuba's body. That was _his_ brother they were examining, not some normal, fragile, vulnerable child. Something as stupid as a plane crash could _never_ finish off the Kaiba brothers...

Before he knew it, Seto was standing in the corridor of Domino Hospital, watching his brother being wheeled into the emergency room with all kinds of tubes and machines attached to him. His body looked so small.

Unable to move his feet, Seto stared at the swinging doors. Raising a slightly shaky hand to the bandage on his forehead, the elder Kaiba was filled with tremendous bitterness. Why was he standing here with little more than a couple cuts and bruises while his little brother...while Mokuba was...

Seto sank into the nearest chair, allowing his face to fall into his hands. He registered, on some detached subconscious level, that those hands were still somewhat caked with his brother's blood. His hands clenched in his hair, tight with worry. Mokuba was the only thing he cared about, and it looked as though he couldn't even protect him...

_It should have been me, _he thought to himself. _I should be the one on the operating table._

He hated himself possibly more than ever at that moment. Hated that he'd come out of the accident unscathed while Mokuba suffered. His breathing was fast and uneven, nerves on the edge of panic.

If some higher entity was trying to punish him, it was working. All too well.

**XXXXXXXX**

**XXXXXXXX**

Okay! That's the end of the first chapter of this one. If this ends up being the one I continue with right now, Seto and Anzu will be meeting up in the next chapter. Just so you know, I have NOT killed Mokuba. I originally planned to, but I think the plot of the story is easier to work with if he's still alive. Either that or I chickened out and couldn't do it. Pick one. This story will have its fair share of angst, but it is, at the heart of things, a romance. Just to tell you. (grin)

Updates for this story are likely to be erratic and far apart, at least for the time being. It may not receive updates at all for long periods of time. Be warned! But please, if you enjoy it do make sure and let me know! You can never tell; it might even catalyze faster posting.


	2. Encounter

Hey people.

Surprise, surprise! The fic that is supposed to be on hiatus is getting updated. Oops! (shrugs) Oh well. Inspiration has been quite fickle and fleeting lately, and this was all that would agree to be written apart from a very pointless and moderately smutty short story that I've been working on in my LiveJournal. Hahaha, that'll probably get posted here eventually, too.

Anyway, yeah. I had a lot of trouble in the first place putting this story on the shelf because I really liked it a lot. The status hasn't changed, either-- I won't say there will be no more updates until further notice, but I also can't and won't promise that more chapters will be forthcoming any time soon.

I'm not sure how I feel about the way this chapter came out. Hopefully by the time I post it I'll be as happy with it as I was with the first installment.

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh, and if I could write _anything_ well enough at this point to make money from it I wouldn't be hanging around a fan fiction website.

**Comfort Me**

**Chapter 2: Encounter**

_**xxx Anzu xxx**_

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

_Bong! Bong!_

_ding! ding! ding!_

Anzu Mazaki mentally cringed as she made her way down the hospital corridor. The noises, the smells, the sterile white walls and bland looking food...Anzu had never cared for hospitals. You might think that being such a compassionate and caring person would draw Anzu to places like these, but not only did the muted atmosphere of sickness make her uncomfortable, the whole aura of the place made her feel...helpless.

_Blip... Blip... Blip... Blip..._

The sounds in the hospital hallway were maddening. Only a trained professional could differentiate between all these beepings and buzzings; Anzu, on the other hand, could only try to ignore the incessant sounds and try to stop herself from wondering whether they signified swiftly improving health or quickly impending death.

Under the circumstances you would think she could wipe such morbid thoughts from her mind. She was at Domino Hospital to visit her aunt and the new baby-- a happy occasion, to be sure. But seeing her aunt with the tiny child and watching her uncle fuss over the both of them caused a nauseating tingle in the pit of Anzu's stomach.

After all, she would never have that kind of happiness, would she? The person she had hoped to pursue such things as a family and children with had chosen a different path.

Reaching the bottom of a set of stairs, Anzu tightened the blue scarf around her neck and tried to redirect her thoughts. So what if love just wasn't in the cards for her? That didn't mean she should begrudge other people their joy and contentment...

This line of thought brought Yugi to mind. Anzu and the smaller boy had shared some tears after Yami's departure, but after awhile it became clear that the two of them felt very different about his decision to leave. The smaller boy had seemed to recover quite quickly; perhaps he would always maintain a connection with his other half, and maybe he could always feel his presence somewhere in the wide world. Anzu didn't know. All she was sure of was that Yugi had cured his blues partly by being even more attentive to and involved with his friends and other people than ever before. Maybe he found it comforting, or maybe his bond with Yami had made him appreciate true friendship on a deeper level.

Anzu wasn't able to draw the same healing value from friendship as Yugi, however. Imagine that, Miss Friendship herself, distancing herself more and more often from those who cared about her because the feeling she got from being with her friends served to remind her of _him_. They all attended local schools and colleges, lived within walking distance of each other if they were willing to hoof it-- but Anzu seemed more and more likely to say no whenever one of the guys or Shizuka wanted to do something. She hated the concern in their faces when she refused yet another invitation.

In some ways Yugi always had been more understanding, more willing to forgive. Anzu was known to possess these qualities too, but she also had a temper. One thing nobody knew was just how bitterly she was capable of turning it against _herself_. There was a part of Anzu that simply couldn't accept that Yami's departure had nothing to do with her. Did this make her self-centered? Maybe. But mostly it meant that her heart wouldn't admit that there was nothing she could have done to make him stay, no help she could have given him. That part of her believed that he hadn't needed to leave her behind-- he must have _wanted_ to. And it was all her own fault...

A strand of silky brown hair fell in front of Anzu's eyes. She was too lost in thought to bother pushing it away, hands shoved deep into her pockets as she meandered toward the hospital exit. She was so far away from reality that she didn't sense the commotion as she approached the waiting area for the emergency room.

The sensation of a camera bulb flashing nearby snapped her part way out of her reverie, but her real wake up call came in the form of a series of increasingly loud and angry yells. The voice delivering them was unmistakably familiar.

"...tell me where the _hell_ you're taking my brother!"

Anzu froze as she took in the scene. Hospital security was holding back a slew of reporters as a stretcher was wheeled past, carrying a small figure. Shifting her attention to the area where the yells had originated, Anzu saw a doctor clad in surgical scrubs attempting to pacify an obviously agitated Seto Kaiba. She hadn't been face to face with the CEO in a long while, but she knew she had _never_ seen him look so panicked. It was quite alarming to see him acting like this; Kaiba, who was always such an imposing figure, tall, strong, sure. Well, unless something happened involving--

Oh no... but then... the small person on the stretcher-- _Mokuba? _

**xxxxxx**

_**xxx Seto xxx**_

Rage bubbled inside of Seto's chest upon seeing the first reporter sneak a peek around the corner at him. The man was trying to be stealthy, acting like he belonged here, but Seto Kaiba never forgot a face. He wasn't sure whether he was from a tabloid or one of Domino's more 'reputable' newspapers. All Seto knew was that any journalist who dared talk to him at this moment in time had better have a hard head-- particularly in the face area. You need that in order to survive being punched repeatedly.

Some flighty and panic stricken layer of Seto's brain, far beyond his slightly dazed deep blue eyes, felt the insane urge to laugh. With care it considered the irony of beating someone up _at the emergency room_. It sure would save on gas for the ambulance--

"Mr. Kaiba?"

Seto managed to pull himself back from the brink in order to focus on the person who had just appeared in front of him. The man was clad in the classic surgeon's uniform of blue scrubs and a serious expression.

"I am Doctor Kurosawa."

No response was immediately forthcoming from Seto, who had noticed a cameraman staking out a pleasing angle over the doctor's shoulder. The doctor noticed Kaiba's glare, narrowing his own eyes and stepping over to the secretary's window. He seemed to be giving her quiet instructions. Thirty seconds later, four burly security guards arrived on the scene and started pushing back the crowd of intruding journalists.

"I do apologize, Mr. Kaiba. I'm afraid it's not within my authority to have them thrown out of the building."

Seto shrugged, focusing his attention on the doctor's face, trying to read the news he came to impart before he actually delivered it--

"Your brother _is_ alive, Mr. Kaiba, but he has slipped into a coma."

Seto didn't know what to think upon hearing this. He'd been trying to brace himself for good news or for bad, but this didn't seem to be either. He wrinkled his eyebrows, frowning deeply. "A coma? And what is that supposed to mean? When will he wake up?"

The doctor sighed, looking suddenly exhausted as he dropped into a waiting room chair. "That's the thing about comas, Mr. Kaiba. There's no way of telling. His condition has stabilized, but it is impossible to tell when or if Mokuba will regain full awareness."

"Hold it right there. _If?"_

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. _If_." The doctor's dark eyes looked steadily into Seto's. "There was a significant amount of bruising to your brother's brain. I won't be able to say any more until the swelling goes down."

Seto carefully touched his fingers to the bandage above his left eyebrow. How could this have happened? They were following correct safety procedures, they always did. Mokuba had just been sitting next to him playing with a prototype for a new handheld game when...

Shaking his head to rid himself of the memories, still so fresh, Seto rose from the seat he'd been occupying. "Where is Mokuba? I want to see him _now_."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible for another eight hours at least. Your brother has been badly injured, Mr. Kaiba. A broken arm, a shattered leg, four broken ribs, and a slew of internal injuries...we need to keep him under observation in a closed ward at least until morning--"

The doctor's words trailed off, partly due to the fact that Seto had grabbed him by the front of his scrubs. "I don't care what _you_ need! Mokuba needs _me_. You had better take me to him right now!"

Seto's voice had risen steadily until he was almost shouting in Doctor Kurosawa's face. Fortunately for the slightly terrified surgeon, The enraged CEO's attention was diverted by the sound of a stretcher being wheeled out of the ER. "Please calm down, Mr. Kaiba. I assure you, we're doing everything necessary to guarantee--"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. My brother is in a _coma_, and it's probably all because of your incompetence!"

Kurosawa's face as white as a sheet. He dealt with irate family members every day, but Seto Kaiba _was_ somehow more intimidating than the average grief stricken relative. It was rather disconcerting; Kurosawa was the best surgeon in the hospital at the tender (for a surgeon, anyway) age of 38. Still, the way Kaiba called him incompetent would almost make the doctor himself believe it was the truth. To make matters worse, the young man seemed to be losing his grip. "Mr Kaiba, please. We'll be happy to find you a bed to rest in and by the time you wake up--"

"A _bed_? There's nothing _wrong_ with me, you idiot! Now tell me where the _hell_ you're taking my brother!"

With dark blue eyes flashing and crackling, Seto pushed past the doctor and swept into the corridor just in time to see his brother's stretcher disappear behind a set of elevator doors. "Damn it!" Seto was more than angry. How dare they try to keep him from seeing his brother? Just as he was about to swing around and clock Doctor Kurosawa in the face, Seto felt a small hand touching his arm. He whirled around stiffly, surprised to find himself face to face with the last person he would have expected. He peered down into a set of sky blue eyes.

"Kaiba? Umm...is everything okay?"

**xxxxxx**

_**xxx Anzu xxx**_

She jumped at the intensity in Kaiba's eyes as he turned his attention toward her. He looked about ready to _kill_. "Is everything _okay_? I'm at the emergency room, Mazaki. What the hell do _you_ think?"

It was then that Anzu noticed the bandage on Kaiba's forehead, as well as his ripped clothes. His blue trenchcoat was torn in several places, with large swaths of fabric mysteriously missing. There were rips in his shirt and pants as well, and his shoes were rather muddy. Not that it really mattered, but she also observed that his hair was in a complete disarray. She had never seen Seto Kaiba look so...disheveled. "Geez Kaiba, what _happened _to you?"

The anger seemed to drain from Seto as he sank into the nearest chair. The reporters had begun to disperse, finally realizing that they'd seen and heard everything they were likely to for the time being. Doctor Kurosawa was speaking with one of the security guards. Anzu sat beside Kaiba, who was covering his face with his hands. After almost a full minute of silence, he dropped his arms to his sides and glanced at Anzu out of the corner of his eye. "Plane crash. On our way back from Okinawa. Mokuba...he's..."

"Oh, Kaiba..." Anzu tried to put a hand on Kaiba's arm, but he jerked away.

"_Don't_ touch me, Mazaki. He's in a coma, not a coffin. And stop looking at me like you actually care."

Anzu rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to say something mean. Being spoken to like this by most people would have made the strong-headed girl bristle, but his reaction to her had been so...Kaiba. That was probably a good sign, right? "Will he be okay?"

Kaiba glared at her with eyes like frozen steel. "Why ask me when you can read about it in the paper tomorrow?"

Returning Kaiba's glare with a disapproving expression of her own, Anzu made a small 'tsk' type noise. "Come on, Kaiba. You know I'm not smart enough to read the newspaper."

"Ha. Ha. Funny joke, Mazaki."

"Are _you_ okay, Kaiba?"

He snorted. "Oh, of course. I've just got a few scratches. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not the one who just spent four hours in emergency surgery."

As if on cue, Doctor Kurosawa reappeared. "Mr. Kaiba? We've taken Mokuba up to the Intensive Care Unit. I've been informed that you will be allowed to see him, but only for ten minutes."

"That's _it_?"

Anzu peered at the faces of the two men. They both looked _completely_ drained. The doctor rubbed his temples. "If all goes well, he'll be eligible for visiting hours beginning tomorrow. Understand, Mr. Kaiba. We may have to keep him here for quite awhile."

Seto nodded slowly, as though too tired to continue the argument. He rose from his chair, beginning to follow the doctor out of the room. He seemed to have forgotten that Anzu was even there.

"Umm..."

The two turned to regard her as she stood nervously in the waiting room, twisting her hands.

"What is it, Mazaki? I'm in a hurry."

Biting her lip, Anzu made a split second decision. Rummaging in her purse, she found a scrap of pink paper. Hastily she scribbled a message, stepping forward and pushing it into Kaiba's hand. "My cell number, Kaiba. In case you-- or Mokuba-- need anything..."

Kaiba scoffed. "The day I need help from you will be the day hell freezes over."

Anzu shook her head sadly. "Whatever you say, Kaiba. Just please remember, you can call me anytime."

"Hn." Kaiba stalked away, ignoring a quizzical glance from Doctor Kurosawa. Little did Kaiba know, the look didn't have as much to do with his treatment of Anzu as what he did with the paper she gave him. Kurosawa had watched him crumple it up...and shove it deep into his trenchcoat pocket.

Anzu's mind reeled as she walked out of the hospital. Mokuba in a coma...Kaiba cold and distant, but obviously distraught...

She _had_ been growing apart from her friends, finding it more difficult to share her feelings and lend her support to them, but this was _different_. Mokuba didn't deserve to suffer because of something he couldn't control, and neither did his older brother. Anzu's heart stirred with sympathy and compassion for the Kaiba brothers, even though she knew Seto Kaiba himself would probably have a total meltdown if he realized she felt this way. He'd surely interpret her desire to help as pity, but Anzu really didn't think anyone should have to go through something like this _all_ alone...

Hadn't that doctor said something about visiting hours? Maybe she would check back tomorrow.

**XXXXXXXX**

**XXXXXXXX**

Okay. That's all I've got for now. Hope the formatting up at the start of the chapter doesn't get all messed up when I post this. Anyway, a couple things to say...

FIrst, sorry I was so uncreative with my naming of the surgeon. I just watched 'The Seven Samurai' again the other day, and I guess I've got Akira Kurosawa on the brain. (shrugs)

Second, this story _is_ a romance, but I have a feeling it'll be a pretty slow starter. There will, however, be physical aspects to the interaction between Seto and Anzu that are _not_ strictly romantic at first. I'm not talking about anything dirty or scandalous (hahaha sorry to disappoint you). Keep reading and you'll see. It's going to be tricky to keep these guys in character, considering the content of this story. I'm going to try my best though, as I always do.

Last but not least, thanks to everyone that reviewed this when I first put it up! Your responses are part of what kept me thinking about this story. And to readers of **The Night Before** and **Blindsided**, don't worry. Those will be getting their updates sometime very soon: )


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